RORY Reid is a familiar face in the world of motor broadcasting, having presented some of the biggest British shows on the topic.
Here we take a look at the car enthusiast’s life and career.
Rory Reid is a 44-year-old journalist who specialises in technology and automobiles.
He started working as a tech journalist after completing a computer science degree at the University of North London.
Rory is the former editor-in-chief of Recombu magazine and has also worked as a brand ambassador.
He was noticed by Top Gear bosses after submitting a video of his skills as a presenter to an open audition — he was the only hopeful of the round to be picked.
Speaking about the experience, Rory told RedBull.com: “Well it’s been a very intense experience, way more involved than I ever thought any show could be.
“The level of scrutiny that the show is under has just been absolutely immense.
“The way I thought about it was like being a soldier parachuted into a war, and you have some people that are on your side, and some people that are not on your side, and then you have the rest of them who are just watching to see what happens anyway.”
Between the years of 2021 and 2022, Rory hosted eight episodes of Fifth Gear Recharged on Discovery+.
Rory co-presented 23 episodes of Top Gear with Matt LeBlanc and Chris Harris from 2016 until 2019.
Before moving over to the main event, Rory and his co-star Chris Harris hosted the spin-off show of the main series called Extra Gear (2016-18).
He also hosted Top Gear Electric, an online show on TopGear.com and across their social media channels.
Rory was also the presenter for the short-lived Sky TV show, Gadget Geeks, which ran in 2011. It was not picked up for a second series.
In 2018, he appeared as a contestant on five episodes of Richard Osman’s House of Games, three shows of Impossible Celebrities, and one instalment of Would I Lie to You? in 2018.
Between 2013 and 2020 he contributed to 20 episodes of The One Show.
And in 2024 he even popped up as an expert in The Apprentice.
Chris Evans took over presenting Top Gear from Jeremy Clarkson, following the BBC announcing that they would not be renewing his contract, which finished in March 2015.
LeBlanc was originally one of the new hosts co-presenters, but despite being a seasoned broadcaster, Evans left left after one poorly received series.
The lead presenting role then went to LeBlanc, with Rory Reid and Chris Harris as co-hosts.
Although this presenting line-up was more popular than the previous one, two new stars were named in the line-up — Freddy Flintoff and Paddy McGuinness — with Harris staying on as a co-presenter, seemingly leaving Rory surplus to requirements, as he was no longer on the show.
Rory is reportedly worth somewhere in the region of £3.9million.
This means he could afford his dream car, a 1969 Corvette Stingray — it’s his favourite because astronauts drove them.
Despite this, Rory drives a drives a Ford Focus.
Some of his fellow Top Gear alumni have also amassed whopping fortunes.
